Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Trims Stock Position in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its stake in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,697 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Ross Stores were worth $1,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,965,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $295,857,000 after purchasing an additional 151,255 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the third quarter valued at approximately $392,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,639 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Ross Stores in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,462,000. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ross Stores

In related news, CMO Karen Fleming sold 5,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.73, for a total value of $671,272.47. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 94,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,826,540.99. This represents a 5.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ROST shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Ross Stores from $175.00 to $150.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut Ross Stores from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ross Stores from $168.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ross Stores from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Ross Stores Price Performance

ROST stock opened at $123.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.96 and a 200-day moving average of $145.67. The company has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.36 and a 12-month high of $163.60.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.95 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.83% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.405 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Ross Stores’s payout ratio is presently 25.63%.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company’s Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.